Ruby Skye Employee Says Drinks Were Served From Raw Sewage-Filled Basement [UPDATED]

If an ex-employee turned Redditor is to be believed, the basement of Union Square nightclubs Ruby Skye and Slide were absolutely flooded with raw sewage—and it didn't prevent the bars in the least from serving customers. SFist unearthed the video (highly NSFW and full of disgusting stuff, which is why we're embedding it below the jump), which was posted to Reddit by a user who claims that 10 days ago, a sewage pipe burst in the club's basement, "flooding the liquor storage area/basement which Slide occupies with raw sewage." As if that weren't enough, the kitchen's grease trap had also overflowed the week prior, "releasing yet more sewage into the kitchen, which had then been allowed to sit for a week...Employees are cleaning up/walking through/dealing with flooding, shit/piss water, and then going back to serving drinks, or delivering mixers for $400 bottles in Ruby Skye."

Needless to say, the employee was not OK with working in such conditions, saying that they had quit that afternoon, and that customers should "avoid both clubs like the plague." The employee went on to add that Ruby Skye was expecting a visit from the Health Department, but online records have the most recent visit from an inspector listed as having occurred last November. Ruby Skye has been cited by the Health Department multiple times in the past two years for such offenses as "inadequately cleaned or sanitized food contact surfaces and foods not protected from contamination."

SFist has reached out to both Ruby Skye and the Health Department for comment, but no information was forthcoming at this time.

Here's the video (again, you've been warned, it's really gross). The employee points out that the club's alcohol and soda pumps are stored in the offending basement:

Ruby Skye isn't on anyone's list of high-end establishments, having been the site of multiple shootings, but if it's true, this is something else.

Update, 9/17/14, 9:59 am: Ruby Skye owner George Karpaty is disputing the ex-employee's claims, saying that while the pipe did indeed burst and release raw sewage, it was after last call for drinks and no one was served. He also says the Health Department supervised cleanup and confirmed the bar was safe to serve again, and that all affected items were thrown away. Karpaty claims that the ex-employee is disgruntled and seeking to damage the bar's reputation. We've reached out to the Health Department to confirm Karpaty's account, and will update accordingly.

· Public Health Concern: Avoid Ruby Skye & Slide SF [Reddit]
· Basement Of Ruby Skye And Slide Flooded With Raw Sewage [SFist]